


Seek and You Shall Find

by Total_whovian



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Total_whovian/pseuds/Total_whovian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The watchtower is quiet with nothing going on, but Batman knows better. With the appearance of an old foe, Batman and Wonder Woman are on the scene. Will everything go smoothly, or will a trap intended for Batman lead to the kidnapping of Wonder Woman? Rated T for later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was 3 a.m. and the watch tower was silent. For once, it seemed that nothing was going wrong. There were no problems on Earth and the only other problem was in a galaxy a couple light years away, and the Green Lantern and Steel were wrapping it up. Superman and J’ohn were enjoying the time that they had off and had decided to go down to Earth and have a real meal. Shayera had retired for the night a couple of hours ago, and Flash followed suit. Wonder Woman was somewhere in the watch tower, and Batman was on monitor duty. 

To anybody else, the silence would have meant that everything was okay. That everything was peaceful and nobody wanted to rob a bank or blow anything up. To Batman however, he knew that the night was too quite. When the night was so quite that the usual sirens couldn’t be heard, he knew evil was brewing. He had observed Gotham for long enough to know that evil never stopped. As he was watching the monitors, he became aware of another presence in the room.

“Diana, I thought you had gone to bed?” Bruce stated without looking away from the screen in front of him.

“I can’t sleep,” Diana responded as she walked steadily towards the black figure framed by the light of the monitor. Batman seemed to nod at this, but that was the only reaction she could get out of him. As she stared at the back of his head, she realized that he was even more tense than usual. Diana took a moment to look at the monitor in front of them and noticed that it was focused on an abandoned warehouse. 

“What is so interesting about that warehouse?” Diana asked.

“It’s just a feeling,” his replied in the same monotone voice that came with the cape and mask. He finally looked behind him at the woman in her customary patriotic get-up with her raven hair. Her hair was held back with the golden tiara, which was apparently a weapon in itself. He looked into her crystal blue eyes and could see the confusion and trust that was behind them. 

Diana raised her eyebrow as she watched Bruce inspect her. It wasn’t uncommon, but it was unusual that he was this blatant about it. She would usually catch him watching her just in time to see him quickly divert his eyes. That stupid mask of his blocked to much of his face for her to actually tell what he was thinking. Well, it wasn’t that stupid. She thought, in fact it was a part of Batman and Bruce that drew her to him. She knew the difference between the two, and she had found several things that she loved about them and it only made her love him more since they were him.

Love? Was it love? Or was it a simple infatuation that was brought upon by the large amount time that they spent together in life threatening situations? It had to be the latter, right?

“Has anything happened yet?” Diana asked hoping to take her mind off of the thoughts that were now occupying her thoughts.

“No, but it will,” he responded.

“Okay,” Diana said taking a seat next to him, “Who do you suspect will cause the trouble?”

“An old friend.”

“Right,” Diana was now beginning to think that she should have left him alone, but she knew that she couldn’t do that. He was always alone either in the Bat Cave or in the tower, surrounded by the lifeless images displayed by technology. She wanted to at least try to talk to him or sit with him without being on a stakeout or in the Javelin. Just as she was about to ask him another question, she caught the slightest movement out of the corner of her eye. Apparently he had seen it too, because they were now both facing the bright monitor that now showed the outline of a dark figure.

“Who is that?” Diana said while squinting at the screen to decipher who the figure could be.

“It’s The Joker,” Batman replied shooting out of his seat and heading for the hanger. Without another word, Wonder Woman was running after him. They reached the Javelin, buckled up, and were headed towards The Joker in no time flat. Once they landed, Batman looked around and quickly spotted the warehouse that they were going to infiltrate. 

“I will go in through the back, and you go in through the roof. I don’t want to spook any of his accomplices.” 

With that the two of them split up to take care of the criminals. As Batman approached the door, he was surprised to see a lack of traps. Usually the Joker knew that if he even tried something small, the bat would be on his tail to stop him. Walking through the front doors, he saw no guards or alarm system at all. But there are always a few brutes that he sends after me. I am usually swooping through a window and getting ready to take him down. That’s when it hit him. The Joker was expecting him to crash through a window and surprise the fool. Well, it looks like I got the drop on him. 

Batman continued down the hallway into what he expected to be a processing room. He was about to take a door on his left when a blood curdling scream cut through the silence. He recognized the voice behind the agony as Diana. I told her to go in through the roof. The Joker was expecting me to go through the roof. With that thought in mind, Batman was off in the direction of the scream. He would not give the lunatic any time to do anything to Diana.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Batman ran through the building in search for the origin of the princess’s scream, he heard her again. The scream was gut wrenching. The fact that the Amazonian warrior was in that much pain was enough to cause anybody pause. He had to find her, and fast.

Meanwhile…

Diana had come through the roof hoping to surprise The Joker and whomever he was with. What she had not expected was to be hit with a barbed dart. It felt familiar, and she realized that it was one of Man Ray’s poison darts. Suddenly, the barb that was now lodged in the center of her chest gave off a large electric charge. It would have been enough to bring down any mortal man, but for a metahuman, it was only enough to incapacitate her. She heard a loud scream as another shock took over her body and realized that it was her voice. Her scream. She was vaguely aware of footsteps coming from the far side of the warehouse.

“Well,” a shrill voice rang in the otherwise empty room, “You’re not ol’batsy. But you are a lot more attractive.”

The Joker came out of the shadows to stare longingly at Wonder Woman. His customary grin seemed to be filled with more malice than ever. As he came closer, Diana let out another shriek as more electricity flowed through her body.

“You are quite strong too,” The Joker continued to inch forward, “I designed this, with the help of a friend’s barb, to knock out the bat, and yet somehow you seem unfazed.”

Wonder Woman looked up to face the crazed man and came face to face with the villain that Batman had spoken about so many times. He had told her about some of the things he had done, and now she understood why he tried so hard to keep this man off the streets of Gotham. Batman had told the Justice League when they first congregated that he, and he alone would handle Gotham City and its crime. Diana was an exception to that, but only when he absolutely needed help.

“I don’t know what you are doing here, but I can tell you this,” Diana was now glaring at her captor, “You picked the wrong person to mess with.”  
With that, Diana stood up and reached for the dart that lay deep within her chest. As she was pulling the barb from her skin, another shock ran through her veins, dropping her to her knees. 

“It’s not going to be that easy,” The Joker was now a few inches from her face.

“Well, we will see about that!” Diana reached for his collar and pulled him down to the ground. She reached for the remote that was now visible in his hand, but The Joker hit the button again. The shock was stronger this time, and Diana had to fight to stay conscious. When she finally brought her fist towards The Joker’s face, Diana caught sight of something moving in the hallway. 

“Joker!” Batman yelled as he caught sight of Diana on her knees and Joker standing over her. He saw her get a punch in, but if everything was alright, Joker would be passed out in the corner.

“Ah, Batsy! Nice of you to join us,” Joker said as he gestured towards Diana. Batman watched as another shock ran through her body making her fall to her hands and knees.

“Joker,” Batman growled out, “let her go. This is between you and me, and now I am here.”

“Oh,” Joker grinned maniacally, “did I hurt one of your friends? Or maybe you are so pissed off because she isn’t just a friend… Yes, I can see that. Batsy and Wonder Woman sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Diana lay on the floor focusing on controlling her body as another shock met her spine. She would strangle that awkward little man and make him feel every ounce of electricity that he had given to her. Diana was silent as she rose to her feet and began to inch towards The Joker.

“Oh no you don’t,” The Joker’s thumb was hovering over the trigger.

Batman saw this and decided now was as good time to act as any. He charged at The Joker and brought him to the ground, trying to reach for the controller still securely in his foe’s grasp. Diana saw all of this and reached for The Joker’s out stretched hand that held the controlled. Quickly, she snatched the controller and crushed it beneath her heel. With that, she walked over to the now knocked out Joker and Batman. As he secured the cuffs around the idiot’s wrists, he looked at Diana. 

“Are you okay?” Batman asked.

“Yes,” Diana replied while taking the barbed dart out of her skin, “It packs a nasty punch though. He got the barbed dart from Man Ray, but I don’t know when he would have procured the shock aspect of it.”

“We will worry about that after we drop him off somewhere safe.”

With that, the two Justice League members went off towards the parked javelin. Little did they know that their friendship would lead to the harm of one of them at the hand of the other.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Bruce,” Diana turned towards the clear plexi-glass that looked into the temporary residence of The Joker. 

“Diana, I want you to go to the medical bay and get checked out,” Bruce stated coldly as without looking at her.

“I am fine, Bruce! I don’t know how many times I am going to have to tell you that, but I do not need any type of medical attention. I am an Amazon warrior, I do not need to be treated like a child. I will heal.” 

Bruce turned to look straight into her eyes. Usually, Diana could handle the staring contest of wills, but when he spoke, chills attacked her spine. Something was different, and she had to find out what. 

“Diana, I don’t care if you are stronger than Superman, I want you to get checked out by somebody. The Joker is a sick bastard,” Bruce was not seething, which was odd, “I don’t know what the full extent of that dart was, and I want to.”

Diana turned to look at their captive as his words sunk in. The last dart like that held poison, but surely this one didn’t. She didn’t feel any different, except a little worn out from the shocks. Now that doubt started to creep into her mind, she decided to go down to the medical wing. If it were anybody else telling her to go, she didn’t think she would have even considered going.

“Fine,” Diana stated, seeing Bruce’s posture almost visibly relax, “I will go, but only if you are the one to look over me.”

“I have work to do here,” Bruce began; glad to have a mask to hide his shock and embarrassment at her request.

“He is not going anywhere, and we need to talk. If you want me to get checked out, then you are going to have to talk to me, and leave him here.” With hands on her hips, Diana looked the fearsome bat dead in the face.

“Fine,” Bruce gave one last glance at the mad man, and started to walk alongside the princess, “but we have nothing to talk about Princess.”

“We will see about that,” Diana smirked as she continued down the hall way.

 

Meanwhile…

“The chip has been implanted sir,” one of The Joker’s newest henchmen declared.

“Good,” The Joker grinned as he thought about the next few hours, “Now we can see how close batsy is to the Amazon Princess.”

With that, the man activated the transmitter and the voice of Wonder Woman filled the room. What really made The Joker happy was the fact that there was another voice coming over the com.

“I do not understand why you won’t talk to me,” Wonder Woman said with an audible sigh.

“Maybe it’s because there is nothing to talk about,” Batman’s gruff voice reverberated throughout the room.

“This is going to be perfect,” The Joker let out a high pitched laugh.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Diana sat upon an examining table in the medical bay of The Watchtower as machines of all sorts and sizes buzzed around her. Batman was preparing one of the various pieces of equipment for who knows what, and Diana was getting restless.

“Batman,” Diana said softly, but he remained facing the computer with his back to her.

“Bruce,” Diana tried again, but to no avail. “Fine! I guess I am done here since you obviously have nothing to say to me about the dart, or otherwise.” 

Bruce turned around to fine Diana beginning to get off of the table, and decided to start talking.

“Sit down Princess,” Bruce growled out in anticipation for the stream of questions that was undoubtedly about to come.

“Are you actually listening to me this time,” Diana began, sitting back down on the table, “or am I going to be faced with the same façade that seems to grace your face no matter what?”

Taking a large gulp of air, Bruce looked at Diana and shook his head. He grabbed the rolling chair that was in the corner of the room, and brought in next to the table. As he sat down, a sign escaped his mouth. Just when he thought this day was over, she has to make it last forever.

“Diana, I have faced a variety of villains that think they are better than the last, but the truth is they are all just idiots that want a chance to beat Batman. All of them, except The Joker. He is different. He doesn’t just want to face me. He wants to cause me pain and to make sure that I suffer at every cost. No matter where I throw him or how many times I stop his plans, he keeps coming back. I don’t kill Diana, at least when it can be avoided.

“I am not going to sit here and think that what he did today was nothing. Even if that dart was meant for me, his plans are always layered. Once I have found the motive, I have to work to just scratch the surface. He is dangerous, and whatever he did today was not the end of his plan by any means. If he wants me hurt then he will do whatever he can to succeed.”

Diana had remained silent and still throughout his entire speech, but now that he was done she had some questions that deserved answers.

“Is this why you proceed to distance yourself from anyone the moment they try to talk to you?” 

Bruce knew that she meant to point out something, but he didn’t quite understand the tone that her voice took on when she spoke. Why is she mad at me? So what, I have my ways of socializing just like anybody else. Just because I am not hitting on every attractive girl that walks into the room like Flash, does not mean it’s wrong or unusual.

“Bruce!” Diana was losing her patience. First he starts talking, and then he refuses to answer her.

“What?!” Bruce was now extremely annoyed. “What did I do that did not satisfy you Princess? Did I not spill enough of my guts to satisfy you?”

“Why are you being so hostile? First you act out of sorts when you saw The Joker in the warehouse, then you freak out and you send me here, and now you open up to me only to shut down again.” Diana said as she raised her voice.

“It’s The Joker, Diana! He does things that get to me, and he did that today!’

“I can handle myself, Bruce! I don’t understand why it should matter to you if I get a little shock. We have Joker, and yet he is still getting to you, why?”

There was a long pause in which the dropping of a pin could be heard, but it was soon interrupted by Flash’s voice over his com.

“Batman, we are watching The Joker, and he seems to be talking to himself. I have to say Bats, you have a way with the sick and twisted ones.”

“I am on my way, Flash. Make sure he doesn’t make any moves before I get there.” Batman said as he jumped up from his chair and headed for the door. 

“I am coming with you,” Diana was right behind him in a second.

“No,” Bruce turned to face her, “you are going to stay here and rest.”

“I am going with you Bruce, and you can stand here wasting time telling off, or we could just go check out the cell and talk about my inability to listen to you later.” Diana stated already heading down the hallway before he could respond.

Batman followed behind with a growl, hoping that this day would be over soon. As he rounded the last corner, he saw The Joker’s smug grin through the plexi-glass. Batman and Wonder Woman exchanged a look before entering the secured cell.

“Who were you talking to Joker?” The dark man spoke with his customary gravel added to his voice.

“Why, myself of course. Who else would I be talking to? It’s not like I have a beautiful woman to keep me occupied.” The Joker said as he stared at Wonder Woman.

“Do not take us as fools Joker. You expect us to think that you are just going to go with being held captive?” Wonder Woman spoke with fire behind her eyes.

“Beautiful, strong, and fiery… I am in the wrong line of work.” Joker’s laugh filled the room.

“Enough!” Batman growled.

“You never lose your temper, Batsy. Did I strike a nerve? Maybe I shouldn’t make remarks about my work… Or maybe I shouldn’t be making remarks about something that you treasure?” Joker smiled.

“Joker, I am this close to opening an air lock with you on the wrong side of the door. Now, who were you talking to?”

“Ooooh, you never resort to killing. I really must have struck gold.” Joker was now jumping with his this new development.

Batman lunged at him and grabbed him around the neck, “I am not in the joking mood!”

“I would be careful if I were you.” The Joker chocked out.

“What does that mean?” Batman said in a dangerously low voice.

“Batman!” Flash’s voice was heard over the com again, “What the hell is happening to Wonder Woman?”

Batman spun around to see Diana on the floor passed out. He let go of the lunatic in his grasp and ran to Diana’s side. He knelt down next to her and felt for a pulse. He found one, but it was elevated and her breathing was ragged.

“What the hell have you done to her, Joker?!” 

“Let me go, and I will stop what is happening to her.” The Joker walker over to Batman and gestured towards the cell door. “I would hurry, she doesn’t have much longer.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Batman! What the hell is going on in there? I am coming down there ri-” Flash was now yelling into the com when Batman cut him off.

“Flash stay there. We can’t have everyone working on a single situation that I already have under control,” Batman ground out as he was frantically trying to stabilize Wonder Woman and keep an eye on The Joker.

“You know Batsy, I am losing my patience and she,” The Joker gestured towards Wonder Woman limp form on the ground, “is running out of time.”

Bruce looked down at Diana and then at The Joker. He could not let The Joker go, but there was no way he was going to lose Diana. Looking down at the woman in his arms, Bruce could not help but stroke her cheek with one of his glove clad hand. 

“Awww! Is big bad Brucy stuck between his love of Wonder Woman and his hate for me? What a shame, I thought we had a special relationship, but obviously, love conquers all. What a stupid phrase, but it makes so much sense right now.” The Joker was jumping with joy at this point as he was watching the scene unfolding in front of him.

“If I let you go, she will be fine?” Batman looked straight into the eyes of his nemesis and made sure that the question was more of a threat than anything.

“Yes,” The Joker laughed, “If you let me go, then your love will be freed from this impeding death. I have to be able to leave the Watchtower, and then she will be returned to normal.”

“She better be perfectly fine when you leave Joker, or so help me,” Batman let the end of the sentence trail off as he imagined what he would do to this maniac if Diana was not okay after this. 

“Joker’s word,” another laugh followed, “I will make sure your sleeping beauty wakes up and I will be out of your hair.”

Bruce took one last look at Diana and then carefully put her head on the floor. As he approached The Joker, he removed a key from his utility belt and disengaged the cuffs that held The Joker. As they made eye contact, Bruce could tell that this was not the end of The Joker’s twisted plan, but he had no choice. He had to save Diana, and if he had to catch The Joker again later, he would. Once the cuffs were off, The Joker looked towards the door and smiled at Batman.

“Flash, come and escort Joker to the transport pad. I want him off the Watchtower now.” 

“Bats, I’m here.” Flash had headed down to the holding cells as soon as he heard Batman’s voice over the com, and although he did not want to let The Joker go, he knew that Diana’s life was on the line. 

“Get him out of here, but keep the coordinates in case he doesn’t release Diana right away. Now, go!” Batman watched as The Joker and Flash took off down the corridor towards the control room.

Bruce shifted his attention to Diana still lying on the floor. He went over to her and crouched next to her head to check on her. So many thoughts were running through his head, and they were all about her. Diana was a princess, but she was also a friend that he wanted so much more with. It would never happen, though. It could never happen. If this is what happens when Joker finds out about my weaknesses, who knows what others could do to me, and her.

Meanwhile..

“Get out of here Joker, and release Diana!” Flash was at the control panel ready to get rid of this menus.

“Of course,” The Joker said as he saluted Flash, “Anything for Batsy and his girlfriend.”

Flash quickly pushed a bunch of buttons and The Joker was gone in a matter of seconds. 

After The Joker landed on the ground, he talked to his minion and gave the command to release Wonder Woman. 

“I want you to keep the line open for a while, and keep me informed about any developments in their relationship.”

“Of course sir.” 

The Joker smiled to himself and started walking out of the alley he arrived in and hummed to himself. This is going to get very interesting.

“Sir, Wonder Woman is awake, and she is talking to the bat.”

“Let me hear the feed,” The Joker took a seat on a sidewalk bench.

Back in the Watchtower holding cell

“Diana! Diana! You need to wake up!” Bruce was leaning over Diana trying to get her to respond. For a brief second he thought that The Joker had bluffed and that he would never have Diana beside him again.

“Bruce, you don’t have to yell,” Diana said in a hushed voice.

Bruce looked into Diana’s opening eyes and let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. He helped her sit up and sat behind her so that she could lean against his chest. He could feel her racing heart beat slowing down and her breathing returning to normal, but he was still nervous. 

“What happened, Bruce?” Diana was now looking around, and she noticed something was wrong. “Where is Joker?”

Bruce could see that she was not happy at losing Joker, but she was even more upset for being incapacitated. She had never had to worry about handling herself in a situation, but Joker was obviously pushing that boundary. As she looked up at Bruce, she knew that she was headed for the hospital wing with no chances of leaving. 

“I let him go,” Bruce was talking to her, but he was too busy checking her over to really look at her.

“Why did you let him go?! We had him and we could have gotten so much information out of him,” Diana knew that the frustration in her voice was due to her failure to anticipate Joker’s plan, but she didn’t care. She wanted answers and revenge.

“I had to let him go, Diana,” Bruce spoke while trying to hold back his frustration.

“Why?” Diana was now looking him directly in the eyes.

“Because he had you unconscious on the ground Diana! I have no clue what he did to you, but whatever it was, I wanted it to stop. He should be hurting me, not you. I do not want you on any other missions with me until I figure out what Joker has planned.”

“I can take care of myself Bruce! I am not a child that needs coddling,” Diana pushed off of the ground and stood to face Bruce.

“You can’t be safe when he is around, and that is final Diana. I will not let anything happen to you.”

“Why are you acting so weirdly around me? First you freak out about a little shock and now over a fainting spell. It’s nothing-”

“A little shock?! I have a feeling that the little shock is the reason that you were unconscious, which was not just a fainting spell. Joker caused both of these incidents, so I hardly doubt that they were nothing Princess.”

“I can handle all of this. I would be more worried if you had to endure all of this. I can heal a lot faster than you, Bruce. You should have kept him here and stopped worrying about me. I don’t know why you are so protective of me, and whenever I ask you, you proceed to lie to me.”

Diana was now looking at Bruce and was hoping that for once he would tell her the truth.

“What do you want to know Diana?” Bruce had stopping all motion and stood there looking at her with an intensity she had begun to see lately.

“I want to know why out of everyone here, you are the most protective of me? Why do you seem to forget my abilities when danger is present?” Diana figured that she would go for it and try to open up to him, but she was not expecting an answer, and she really wasn’t expecting the truth.

“Diana, the reason that I am so protective of you is because I have feelings for you that I really shouldn’t have. If I were to follow those feelings, more things like today could happen, and this isn’t even the end of Joker’s plans. I am protective because I don’t want anything to happen to you, and if me being with you puts you at risk, then I have to keep my distance.”

Both Diana and Bruce were silent after his speech, and they stood looking at each other for a few seconds before Bruce broke the silence.

“We need to get you checked out, and this time you are not leaving the hospital wing.”

Bruce turned to lead the way with Diana following close behind. Little did they know that Bruce’s admission would mean more danger for the both of them and even more schemes from Joker.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As Joker looked around the area where he was dropped, he heard the screeching of tires. When he looked to his left, he saw a large black SUV that was being driven by one of his henchmen. At first, he wondered how they had found him before he could give them his position, but one look into the back seat and he saw the answer. 

In the back of the SUV sat the man that had given him the idea of using a dart. Devil Ray sat as still as possible as if waiting for the moment of truth. Joker approached the car and could feel the eyes of the Watchtower following his every movement. He couldn’t help but look up and exaggerate his already disconcerting smile. He waved towards the sky and then grabbed the door to the back seat of the car, quickly getting in.

“Well?” Devil Ray asked without any exchange of pleasantries, “Did it work?”

“We had an unexpected visitor, but the outcome was better than we expected. The dart that you made for Batman was successful in incapacitating Wonder Woman. The listening device is in place.”

“I designed the dart for the purpose of being able to take out any of The Justice Freaks. Of course it would work on her,” Devil Ray looked at Joker with a sense of pride.

“Okay…. Anyways, the listening device was able to pick up some interesting that I think you would be interested to here. We might be able to get rid of two of the members through the use of one.”

“What is it that you heard?” Devil Ray was now interested in the direction of this conversation. Usually he would ramble on and on like some kind of hyperactive two year old, but this had him interested.

“Why don’t we head back to our base, and you can hear a little bit of this,” Joker paused as he sought out the right word, “development.”

 

Meanwhile…

“Everything looks fine according to the monitors, but I just don’t understand!” Batman was staring at the several screens that lined the walls of the watchtower infirmary. 

Diana sat on one of the beds with machines all around her. Neither her nor Bruce had said a word since they had been in the holding cell, and she didn’t know about him, but she didn’t know what to say. Sure she had feelings for him, but she didn’t think it was the right time to tell him that. As she watched him fret over the monitors, she let her eyes roam over his figure. He seemed even more tense than usual and he was going to burn a whole in the screens if he stared at the any longer.

“Bruce,” Diana decided to try to talk to him about everything and hopefully get him to look at her instead of the screens. 

“There is nothing wrong! I can’t see anything that would cause this,” Bruce was now scanning each screen for seemed to be the thousandth time, “There is nothing in your blood stream that would explain this, unless my monitors can’t pick up on the problem.” Now there was a thought. Could Joker really create something that I couldn’t detect?

“Bruce,” Diana tried again, this time a little louder.

“If it is something I can’t detect then maybe I can narrow down the possibilities of what it might be.”

With a sign of frustration Diana got off the bed and walked up behind Bruce, turning him around to face her with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Bruce!” Diana was passed annoyed, “I know this isn’t how we thought today would happen, but why do you feel the need to isolate me from everything you are doing? We haven’t even talked about your confession and-”

“There is nothing to talk about, Diana,” Bruce growled, “I told you everything there is to talk about.”

“Exactly! You told me everything,” Diana stared at Bruce with a fire that had been missing from their previous encounters, “I have had no chance to tell you how I feel, Bruce.”

There was a tense paused before Bruce decided that it was time to hear here out and nodded.

“Bruce,” Diana took a deep breath and continued, “I feel things for you too, but that doesn’t mean that I am going to thing less of you or your abilities. I trust you with my life everyday even in the most dangerous of situations. There is a difference between being worried and being controlling, You are asking me to stop doing my job because you are afraid I might get hurt, but would you be asking the same of me if we didn’t feel this way?”

Diana stopped to stare at Bruce and wait for his response to her rant. After what seemed like forever Bruce responded.

“No,” Bruce said in a voice that couldn’t possibly belong to the shadowy figure that patrolled the streets of Gotham. “I wouldn’t be asking you to stop doing your job, but Diana I can’t have you hurt by Joker! It’s my battle not yours.”

“I felt the same way when you guys helped me battle Faust, but I didn’t say anything when you helped. He could of hurt you guys with magic that I wouldn’t have been able to reverse.”

Diana had a point and although Bruce wasn’t going to admit that to her, he shouldn’t help the slight smirk that appeared on his face. This is what he liked about her, she could stand up for herself and she wasn’t dependent on anyone. 

“I am sorry, Diana,” Bruce looked into her blue eyes, “you can help me, but that doesn’t mean that I am going to worry any less about you. It’s not that I don’t think you can protect yourself, it’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“Hey guys,” Flashes voice came over the coms, “I guess this would be as good a time as any to tell you that your coms have been on the whole time. I guess I forgot to turn them off. I didn’t think you had it in you Bats, but it was about time.”

“Flash,” Bruce said with the customary rasp back, “you’re lucky you can run quickly, because I am going to ring your neck when I get my hands on you.”

“Flash,” now it was Diana’s turn to talk, “Can you give us a minute?”

“Sorry, Diana, of course, but keep it PG-13 you two.”

“Flash!” Both Bruce and Diana said together. Bruce out of annoyance, and Diana out of mirth. 

With that they waited a few seconds before they looked back at each other, when Diana broke out into a fit of laughter. Bruce shook his head but couldn’t take his eyes off of the woman laughing in forint of him. She was breath taking no matter what she was doing, and he suddenly wanted to embrace her.

“Diana,” Bruce approached her, “I am glad that we figured this out, and that you are okay.”

With a smile on her face, Diana hugged Bruce and didn’t let go for a while. At first Bruce felt a bit awkward to be hugging a woman that he liked and didn’t just drape on his arms, but this was Diana and that was what relaxed him. When they pulled apart Diana placed a kiss on Bruce’s cheek and smiled at the look of surprise on his face. Although he tried to hide it, Diana knew him enough to know that he was a bit uncomfortable. 

Meanwhile…

“I do believe that silence meant that their relationship is now officially up and running,” Joker squealed.

“We need to take out Wonder Woman in order to get to Batman,” Devil Ray spoke as he stared at Wonder Woman’s vitals, “And I know exactly how we are going to do this.”


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In the Watchtower…

“Earlier today, Wonder Woman was captured by The Joker when she was with Batman on a mission. All seemed fine when they brought The Joker in until she collapsed in unconscious. Batman searched her entire system and could not find anything that could cause her illness, but nonetheless, Batman and Flash had to let The Joker go in order to save her. She seemed to be fine until I called her into town to help with some of Devil Ray’s goons and she suddenly disappeared. I found her com in an alley way a couple of blocks from where it looks like she fell from the sky. We have to assume that it was Devil Ray that took her,” Superman finished his briefing as the entire League stood in front of him. 

“What about The Joker?” came a question from the back of the crowd, “Are they working together?”

At this point, Clark turned to Bruce for his response to the question. They had discussed this possibility, but Bruce had stormed out of the conference room to go back to Diana’s test results. 

“They are most-likely working together, which means that everyone is going to have to be alert with any of the villains they encounter,” Bruce took a breath as he took in the looks of shock that graced everyone’s face, “We don’t know how deep this goes, and the only way to find that out is to start rounding up people but carefully.”  
‘  
The room was quite as each of the heroes took in the information and began planning how to go about catching their respective enemies. 

“There are rosters that give each of you your assignments and your parts of town. We are going to round everyone up and ensure that we find her before anything else happens,” Clark finished up his speech and dismissed everyone.

As he turned to Bruce, he could see that he was trying to hide his anger the best he could. Looking closely, he could see his fists balled up near his sides, his nostrils were flared, and his heart rate was dangerously high. Bruce was anxious, and it was not the anxiety that came from worrying about a colleague, there was another aspect to his expression.

“I am going to go for The Joker,” Bruce said without looking at Clark.

“I’m not sure that is such a good idea,” Clark began, “but, I know that you believe that he is involved as well…That is why I have organized a team for you to take with you to check him out.”

“I don’t need a team, Superman,” Bruce ground out, “Having somebody with me when I first confronted him was what started all of this.”

Clark watched his solemn friend contemplate the events of the past few hours, and he was hit with a startling conclusion. Bruce and Diana had become friendly over the past few years that they had worked together, and the looks that they had exchanged were hard to miss and even harder to misunderstand. His friends had it bad, and it was only a matter of time before they admitted how they felt about each other. Looking at Bruce now, Clark realized that Bruce must have accepted that he had feelings towards her.

“We will get her back, Bruce,” Clark said softly as he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“And what makes you so sure?!” Bruce exploded, “What if we don’t find her or if we find her dead? It will have been my fault entirely because I couldn’t say no to her when she first came with me!” 

“Diana would have gone whether or not-” Clark was cut off before he could finish his point.

“The trap that Joker sprung on her was meant for me!” Bruce yelled, his voice cracking at the end of his exclamation, “I should have been the one that they took. They were supposed to take me. Supposed to kill ME! She just wanted to come along and because I have feelings for her, I gave in to her. It should be me that they are doing god-knows- what to.”

Meanwhile…

Diana laid her head back down on the table after trying and yet again failing to escape her bonds. They were too tight on her wrists and the pain that was coursing through her body was robbing her of every ounce of strength that she had. Devil Ray and Joker were still talking in the corner of the room, occasionally glancing back at her. When they saw that she was fully awake, they both moved to stand on either side of her.

“Did you have a nice nap?” The Joker laughed at his own antics.

“Where in Hades am I?” Diana growled as she flexed against her restraints. 

“Well, you are at our special hideout where we can do whatever we want to do to you without worrying about your super friends interrupting us,” The Joker replied with his ever present grin.

“So,” Devil Ray began as he took out a remote control of sorts, “We want your help in getting The Bat here.”

“I will never help you harm anyone!” Diana fired back.

“Oh, she thinks she has a choice. How cute,” Joker says as he laughs again, “Can I press the button?” He asked Devil Ray.

Devil Ray handed the remote over to Joker and Diana could only watch in confusion as Joker bounced on his heels. Joker turned to her and pressed a large button in the center, and suddenly Diana felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her head. When she tried to move to escape the pain, the pain increased ten-fold. Another button must have been pressed because Diana now felt her body go numb and her ears start to ring. Everything faded into black as she heard Devil Ray say something to Joker.

“Is she out?” Joker asked as he poked Diana’s face.

“Yes. Now go get the camera. We need to capture the moment for our Bat.”

Joker ran off to get the camera they would use to send the ransom picture to Batman, and Devil Ray pulled up a chair to sit next to their prisoner. She really was beautiful, and Devil Ray entertained the idea of tracing a finger over her lips to see what they would feel like. Catching himself only an inch away from her lips, Devil Ray pulled back and positioned her for her photo shoot. 

“I found the camera!” Joker screamed as he came into view.

In the Watchtower…

“Bats!” Wally called out as he came rushing towards the command center, “A group of the guys were given this envelope addressed to you when they picked up a few low lives.”

Taking the envelope into his hands, Bruce examined it carefully. It was a plain manila envelope with “Batman” scribbled across the top. He turned it over and slowly opened the prongs holding the lip shut. Tipping it over, Bruce was surprised to see a folded piece of paper with the words “your move” written on it. Unfolding the paper, Bruce gasped and took a step back from the table, letting the newly revealed picture fall to the table. 

As Bruce walked out of the command center, Wally picked up the picture to look at what had caused the usually stoic man react the way he did. The picture was of Diana lying passed out on a metal table with her arms and legs tied to the arms of the table. She had a few deep cuts on her arms and a split lip, but the worst part of the picture was the person sitting in a chair next to her. Joker was sitting in a chair with one of his hands caressing Diana’s hair. After his shock and disgust wore off, Wally put the photo back in the envelop and took it to the lap for processing.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Pain. Pain everywhere. That’s all Diana could feel as she began to regain consciousness. She was seeing fireworks behind her eyelids due to the pain, but at least she was awake. The last thing she remembered was Joker and Devil Ray talking about a plan to send Bruce something. They were going to use her to lure Bruce here! She had to get free immediately. There had to be a way out of these bonds if only she could get up the strength to break free. 

The pain in her head is what stopped her from struggling. It felt as if her head was going to explode but something was holding it together. It was a crippling pain that had her rethinking her escape plan. She had to get Joker to stop the pain with the remote he was carrying. She knew Devil Ray would never let her pull anything over his head, which meant that Joker was her best bet. 

Suddenly there was a noise from the corner of the room as a door was thrown open. She could hear the annoy laughter that was distinctly Joker followed by the hollow breathing of Devil Ray. Diana lay back down and waited for them to approach her. The only thing she could do was wait. She had to get Joker alone or else nothing would work. 

“Perfect! She is awake again,” Joker laughed.

“You are sure that the package was delivered?” Devil Ray asked, refusing to acknowledge their prisoner.

“Yes! Now, will you stop nagging me and let me enjoy our guest for a bit,” Joker rolled his eyes. 

“You can do whatever you want once we get what we need to catch the bat and the rest of the super freaks. We need a few more photos and a video,” Devil Ray droned on as he set up the camera and pressed record.

“Now my lady,” Joker giggled into her ear, “We are going to send a message to your friends, so all you have to do is lay there and look distressed.”

Devil Ray walked in front of the camera and began speaking, “To the super freaks who are watching, if you want Wonder Woman back in one piece, we have a few demands to be met. We want all of our associates that you picked up the other day released. We also want to have access to the money that was transferred into the New York City Bank this morning.”

“And I want the Batman to come out and play…without all of his fancy toys and costume. He can keep the mask on until he gets here, but if he wants Wonder Woman back, I am going to need him to take it off.”

Diana looked between the two men in front of her and couldn’t help but laugh. Hearing giggling from behind them, Joker and Devil Ray turned towards the woman on the table. 

“Do you really think they are going to do any of that?” Diana hissed as the pain started to increase, “I am only a single person, they don’t need me.”

“Ahh! The Justice League may not need you, but Batman does. I think he is willing to do anything to save you,” The Joker sneered as he leaned over her. 

“We’ve got want we need. I will do the rest and send it off on my own. Do whatever the hell you want, but stay away from me, because I will strangle you if I hear that obnoxious laugh of yours one. More. Time,” Devil Ray growled as he grabbed the camera, snapped a few pictures of Joker leaning over Wonder Woman, and left. 

This was her chance. She had to get The Joker close enough to get the remote from him. He was still looking down at her as if he were studying her. He brought his nose down to her neck and sniffed. Then he brought her mouth to her ear to whisper to her.

“I hope Mr. Wayne decides to grace us with his presence soon,” he paused after hearing her sharp intake of breath, “Or there isn’t going to be much left of you.”

“What do you want from Batman?”

“Oh, so it’s Batman now?” Joker laughed, “Not too long ago it was ‘Bruce.’ I thought you two hit it off perfectly by the way. You were so adamant about being fine, but we all know now that you’re not.”

Diana looked at the ridiculous man in front of her and the revelation hit her harder than any punch ever had. He was listening to us. He heard everything! That’s how he knows Bruce’s identity, and it’s all my fault. I have to get out of here, now.

“What are you going to do to him?” she asked again, hoping he would move the remote just a bit closer.

“Well, we are going to have fun taunting him with you, and then we are going to kill him slowly. We will make sure that he sees you die right before he is killed himself. It is perfect!”

The remote was so close, she could almost reach it. If only he could get a bit closer.

“Please,” she started to beg, “please don’t hurt him. You have me. I’m all the ammunition you need. You can have me. Kill me, but not him, please!”

The Joker seemed to be surprised that the amazon princess would revert to begging, but after his initial shock, he couldn’t help the glee that spread across his face. He leaned into her even more, making sure his upper body was flush against hers.

“You can beg all you want, sweetheart, he will still suffer. And you-” The Joker was cut off by a right hook.

While the Joker was busy trying to get into her face, Diana was finally able to reach the remote in his pocket. Pulling it out, she pressed a couple of buttons before the pain was gone. Without the shooting pain, she was able to break her right arm free, and throw a right hook right into Joker’s face. 

“Hera did that feel good,” Diana said as she freed the rest of her limbs, “Now I just need to get to Devil Ray.”


End file.
